Eliana Lopez Urbina, wife of Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi, arrives with her attorneys Paula Canny (left) and Deborah Wald (right) to attend a hearing at the Civic Center Courthouse to decide whether to allow Mirkarimi visitation with his son Theo in San Francisco, Calif. on Friday, Feb. 3, 2012. The judge postponed any decision until next Wednesday.

Photo: Paul Chinn, The Chronicle

Eliana Lopez Urbina, wife of Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi, arrives with...

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2011 mayoral candidate Dennis Herrera meets for a brief Q&A with the editorial board of the San Francisco Chronicle to discuss his platform in San Francisco, Calif. on Sept. 22, 2011.

Photo: Tim Maloney, The Chronicle

2011 mayoral candidate Dennis Herrera meets for a brief Q&A with...

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2011 mayoral candidate Dennis Herrera meets for a brief Q&A with the editorial board of the San Francisco Chronicle to discuss his platform in San Francisco, Calif. on Sept. 22, 2011.

San Francisco Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi's wife, who so far has refused to cooperate with investigators in the domestic-violence case against him, has herself a new set of lawyers - including one who has experience with a closemouthed client.

Only in this case, Canny is not ruling out the possibility that Mirkarimi's wife, Eliana Lopez, will take the stand after all when Mirkarimi goes on trial this month for allegedly abusing her.

"I can't answer that question right now. It's a complicated case," Canny told us when asked if Lopez, who so far has denounced the charges against her husband, might reverse herself.

The case is so complicated, in fact, that Canny has brought in Deborah Wald, a well-known family law attorney, to help Mirkarimi try to overturn a stay-away order and win visitation rights with the couple's 2-year-old son.

Yet a third attorney, Angela Bean, has been brought in to handle immigration issues that might come up for Lopez, a Venezuelan immigrant who married Mirkarimi after their son's birth.

"I know how to hook people up with the right lawyers," Canny said.

Canny wouldn't comment on the case, but she was clear on one point: "I was not brought in by anyone associated with Mirkarimi." That wasn't the case with Lopez's last attorney, whom the sheriff hired.

That could mean some very interesting twists ahead in this most byzantine of misdemeanor prosecutions.

Pay play: Not only did Oakland City Council members manage to prevent any cuts to Children's Fairyland and the zoo during the latest round of layoffs, they also spared themselves.

At the last minute, and with no public discussion, the council members avoided any salary cuts for themselves or their staffs in approving a city budget last week that will mean layoffs for 80 city workers.

Not bad, considering that half of the council's budget was on the block to help Oakland cope with the loss of $28 million in redevelopment funds.

Well, Gonzalez isn't the only public official with interesting ties to the case.

City Attorney Dennis Herrera - whose job is to defend the city - had to recuse himself, along with the rest of his office, because the plaintiff - Cobra Solutions Inc. - was once his client in private practice.

Herrera handed the job of defending the city to powerhouse attorney, longtime friend and frequent political contributor Joe Cotchett, who agreed to do the work at the low "at cost" price of $100 per hour.

So far the tab is $147,000 and counting.

Not to leave anyone out, Mayor Ed Lee, who also helped clear Cobra as a minority contractor back when he was city purchaser, was deposed in the case last week - and may be called as a witness.

Family reunion: The other night, Alameda County emergency dispatchers got a call from a man threatening to blow up Santa Rita Jail if anything bad happened to his son, who was being held there on a stack of assault charges.

After a quick call to the jail to confirm the inmate's name and address, deputies were dispatched to his family home in San Leandro.

As luck would have it, they arrived just as dad was pulling up in his Cadillac Escalade - clearly over the drink limit.

"So father and son both wound up in jail," said sheriff's spokesman Sgt. J.D. Nelson.

Chronicle columnists Phillip Matier and Andrew Ross appear Sundays, Mondays and Wednesdays. Matier can be seen on the KPIX-TV morning and evening news. He can also be heard on KCBS radio Monday through Friday at 7:50 a.m. and 5:50 p.m. Got a tip? Call (415) 777-8815, or e-mail matierandross@sfchronicle.com.